The former Fiorentina star was once one of Nigeria’s most prominent footballers in the Italian top flight
Former Nigeria international Christian Obodo is convinced that snubbing a big-money move to England to stay in Napoli is the step in the right direction for Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen.
Since he scored a historic ten goals to power Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets to a record fifth world u-17 title, Osimhen’s career has been on an upward trajectory.
Leaving trails of goals behind, the youngster moved from Belgium to France before landing in Italy two years ago.
The logical next step appears to be the English Premier League. And after scoring 18 goals combined in the Europa League and Serie A, Osimhen looks ready for the most glamorous league in the world.
The 23-year-old has not been short of suitors, with Arsenal, Manchester United, and, Tottenham, Newcastle jostling for his signature.
At least two of those teams have had multi-million euros bids rejected by Napoli for Osimhen.
Napoli clearly will not entertain any offer less than their €100 million evaluation of their prized asset.
Arsenal are believed to be preparing another bid close to that estimation.
But former Plateau United kid wonder Obodo, who played for five different Italian teams before leaving for Belarus in 2013, has offered his viewpoint about Osimhen’s impending departure from the Diego Maradona Stadium.
Obodo believes Osimhen has significantly improved under the guidance of Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti.
And the former Fiorentina midfielder insists that his younger compatriot will excel even more for Napoli and Nigeria if he stays another year in Naples.
“I was aware of Osimhen’s potential even before he joined Napoli,” Obodo, now an assistant coach in the MLS, said on Italy’s Station 1 Radio, as per Napoli Online.
“I think this is the ideal place for a player like Victor, in addition to the adequacy of the coach.
“Spalletti’s work was relevant and allowed the Nigerian to grow a lot both at Napoli and with the national team. I had no doubts about the impact that the former Lille star have had in Napoli.”
True to Obodo’s observation, Osimhen has been unstoppable for the Super Eagles in recent weeks.
The former Lille lad scored five goals in two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June, including four in the 10-0 demolition of Sao Tome in Morocco on Monday.